Correct Answer:
A. He asked teacher if he thought his essay was good
When changing direct speech to indirect speech, especially for interrogative sentences (questions), several rules apply. The reporting verb "said to" changes to "asked." For a yes/no question, we introduce the reported speech with "if" or "whether." The tense of the verb in the reported clause usually shifts to the past (e.g., present simple to past simple). Pronouns also change to reflect the new speaker's perspective.
- A: He asked teacher if he thought his essay was good correctly applies these rules: "said to" becomes "asked," "Do you think" becomes "if he thought" (tense shift and pronoun change), and "my essay" becomes "his essay."
- B: He asked teacher that was his essay good is incorrect because "that" is not used with "if/whether" for questions, and the word order remains interrogative.
- C: He asked teacher that if he thought his essay was good is incorrect due to the redundant use of "that if."
- D: He asked teacher if he thinks his essay is good is incorrect because the tense of the verb "think" should shift from present to past ("thought").